his unfocused eyes bored into the woman from behind. Gabe sensed his partner’s movement before he saw it, and he called out a warning to the woman as his body erupted into action. Karl was on her before he could reach her, tearing into the exposed flesh of her neck with a hungry ferocity. Blood sprayed from around his mouth as his lips moved over her.
Fuck!
Gabe darted forward but was suddenly jerked to a halt as though restrained. Every cell in his body wrenched to a standstill. Poised on the edge of violent discovery, his eyes locked with hers. The scent of blood saturated his senses. The smell of Karl’s blood was familiar and nearly overwhelming, but another scent, barely a curling wisp of incense, rose from the taint of his cousin’s blood and sliced thinly across Gabe with the fury of a whip.
His every muscle clenched in recognition. The length of his canines exploded in his mouth. His lips parted with the powerful force of his reaction.
Gabe felt a mindless fury swell up from some unexplored depths inside him. It was dark and deadly as it flowed over him. Something stalked that darkness within him, something that had lain dormant, waiting patiently until this moment. Now it was alive within him, dangerous and determined. Gabe suddenly knew only one thing: the woman was his. Her blood belonged to him . Instinct clawed and snarled, tearing away from his mind, leaving him without his prized control. He couldn’t think; he could only react.
Gabe lunged and slammed into his partner. They rolled together, bits of garbage and papers scattering with the force of their movements. Karl fought with a single-minded intensity to get back to the woman, throwing Gabe from him and leaping at her. Shimmering, Gabe met him in mid-launch before he could reach the woman. Karl struggled to get back to his feet, but his body jerked convulsively and he went still.
The adrenaline coursed through Gabe’s body, his chest heaving with his breath as he rolled to his knees over his partner’s still form. Immediately his eyes sought out the woman. His woman. The smell of her blood still encircled him, obliterating everything else. No longer could he smell the oppressive scent of the garbage or the nearby bay. There was only her.
Swiveling his head, he allowed his gaze to travel over her. Every inch would belong to him. It was a fact his freshly roused instincts would not be steered from. She was speaking into a small black phone, calling for others to come, to “clean up”. His eyes focused on her lips, pink and glistening from the nervous slide of her tongue. They moved, but he couldn’t hear her words over the humming of the instinct murmuring in his head. She held her other hand against the side of her neck. Then those dark eyes turned to fix inscrutably on him.
Rising to his feet, he reached out and pulled her hand away from her neck where Karl had torn into the pale, delicate flesh. Blood smeared the frantic pulse, and fresh blood welled from the wound even as it started to heal before his eyes. Enthralled by her scent, he leaned in closer, and inhaled. The scent swirled thick and sweet, wrapping him in its promise. The shimmering crimson liquid beaded and began to slide down her neck – the only color in a world suddenly gone gray.
Lowering his head he caught those drops on his tongue, gently laving the bite. Fire streaked through him and his body jerked beneath the force of his reaction to the taste of her. He needed the exchange. Needed to give her his blood, to mark her with the essence of him, to claim her. At that moment it was a drive he had neither the strength nor desire to resist.
Deep inside him the darkness rippled, and a beast growled with satisfaction.
Chapter Two
Kel Sheridan’s entire body clenched hungrily as the hot stranger ran his tongue over her neck. Her breath speared sharply through her chest at the force of the sensation. Darkness swirled around her, the air hot and spicy in
Fuck!
Gabe darted forward but was suddenly jerked to a halt as though restrained. Every cell in his body wrenched to a standstill. Poised on the edge of violent discovery, his eyes locked with hers. The scent of blood saturated his senses. The smell of Karl’s blood was familiar and nearly overwhelming, but another scent, barely a curling wisp of incense, rose from the taint of his cousin’s blood and sliced thinly across Gabe with the fury of a whip.
His every muscle clenched in recognition. The length of his canines exploded in his mouth. His lips parted with the powerful force of his reaction.
Gabe felt a mindless fury swell up from some unexplored depths inside him. It was dark and deadly as it flowed over him. Something stalked that darkness within him, something that had lain dormant, waiting patiently until this moment. Now it was alive within him, dangerous and determined. Gabe suddenly knew only one thing: the woman was his. Her blood belonged to him . Instinct clawed and snarled, tearing away from his mind, leaving him without his prized control. He couldn’t think; he could only react.
Gabe lunged and slammed into his partner. They rolled together, bits of garbage and papers scattering with the force of their movements. Karl fought with a single-minded intensity to get back to the woman, throwing Gabe from him and leaping at her. Shimmering, Gabe met him in mid-launch before he could reach the woman. Karl struggled to get back to his feet, but his body jerked convulsively and he went still.
The adrenaline coursed through Gabe’s body, his chest heaving with his breath as he rolled to his knees over his partner’s still form. Immediately his eyes sought out the woman. His woman. The smell of her blood still encircled him, obliterating everything else. No longer could he smell the oppressive scent of the garbage or the nearby bay. There was only her.
Swiveling his head, he allowed his gaze to travel over her. Every inch would belong to him. It was a fact his freshly roused instincts would not be steered from. She was speaking into a small black phone, calling for others to come, to “clean up”. His eyes focused on her lips, pink and glistening from the nervous slide of her tongue. They moved, but he couldn’t hear her words over the humming of the instinct murmuring in his head. She held her other hand against the side of her neck. Then those dark eyes turned to fix inscrutably on him.
Rising to his feet, he reached out and pulled her hand away from her neck where Karl had torn into the pale, delicate flesh. Blood smeared the frantic pulse, and fresh blood welled from the wound even as it started to heal before his eyes. Enthralled by her scent, he leaned in closer, and inhaled. The scent swirled thick and sweet, wrapping him in its promise. The shimmering crimson liquid beaded and began to slide down her neck – the only color in a world suddenly gone gray.
Lowering his head he caught those drops on his tongue, gently laving the bite. Fire streaked through him and his body jerked beneath the force of his reaction to the taste of her. He needed the exchange. Needed to give her his blood, to mark her with the essence of him, to claim her. At that moment it was a drive he had neither the strength nor desire to resist.
Deep inside him the darkness rippled, and a beast growled with satisfaction.
Chapter Two
Kel Sheridan’s entire body clenched hungrily as the hot stranger ran his tongue over her neck. Her breath speared sharply through her chest at the force of the sensation. Darkness swirled around her, the air hot and spicy in
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